The announcement of the new school was made last month by the Ministry of Education, which said the school aimed to provide Kaitāia families with an option for education immersion in reo Māori.
Te Rito, Te Kura Taiao, set on a 22ha property in Doubtless Bay in the Far North, will open later this month for the start of the school year.
The school will be run by Kaitāia-based Te Rito Ltd, which already has three early childhood education centres in the area.
The school’s kaitautoko (sponsors), Hailey-Jane Tobin and Erina Harrison, said while there were 35 confirmed enrolments there was a lot of expressions of interest from whānau who they are yet to meet with.
“We are a full immersion kaupapa reo Māori option in our community. We offer a comprehensive programme of literacy and numeracy that is enriched by our taiao (environmental) focus through the sciences and pūrākau. The other curriculum areas are also woven through our taiao focus,” Tobin and Harrison said.
They said their key role is to ensure they are responsive to the needs of the kaiako and mokopuna in their care.
“We will play an active role in ensuring all aspects of our kaupapa operate with transparency, integrity and aroha where mokopuna wellbeing, achievement and success is at the forefront of our decision making.
“Priority mokopuna are given priority and our Korowai Manaaki framework embraces the collective tautoko of the kura, whānau and mokopuna and the collection action to ensure mokopuna growth and development.”
The school will have plenty of space for learning and extra murals.
“Taumarumaru Pā/Reserve is our main learning environment along with Koekoeā (Coopers Beach) and Ōtānenui our awa (river), so we have plenty of space to explore and physical activity. We have our Te Rito whare that will be utilised as another base for mokopuna learning.”
Tobin and Harrison said the school has been an aspiration of their whānau and community from the very beginning of their kaupapa and when the opportunity to apply was announced, last year, they jumped at the chance to turn their dream into reality.
Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced a new charter school for Northland last month. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“We are lucky to have existing relationships with our surrounding kura and community groups. We are not short of existing extracurricular activities that our mokopuna will continue to connect to and be a part of.”
New Zealand Educational Institute president Mark Potter said rural schools and communities face unique economic and geographical challenges.
“We support initiatives to provide education to Māori by Māori however these are best provided by approaches such as kura kaupapa and kura ā iwi, as these retain statutory entitlement for whānau to have a role in governance, allow for impacts on the wider school network to be considered, and keep in place important legislative safeguards for tamariki and their education.”
